Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-29
ROACH REMEMBERED HIM.
Another Insta"cn of the Great shipbuild
er's KiudlIness of Heart,
lpa Sentinel

Another Ins,a"ca of the Great shipbuild
er's Kindnness of Heart,
Milwaukee Sentinel
An intimate friend of John Roach told
this of him st the time of his assignment:
cat twenty-five he had wife and two
children. At this time he was a slight
slip of q fellow, and did not weigh much
over 120 pounds. He became ill and was
confined to his bed until all of his moder-
ate savings were gone. Ole night, when
there was scarcely penny in the hruse,
the phys clan came to see him, and after
examining him said: John Roach,
you should know the truth. You
must die. Your lungs are hope
lessly affected. l tell you this
so that if you car make any provision for
your wife and children you will yet have
time Roach was in despair. He saw alb
soIute'y no hops for himself in the future
He did not fear death, but III thought OF
leaving his wife aud children to desti
tute, poverty-stricken life pierced him to
the heart. He prayed all night that he
might live. in the night vision came to
him. 1t seemed as if he were looking
directly into heaven, and from that abode
of happiness came a promise to him that
he would live. The next day fellow
workman 'me in to see him. The work
man was going west.
"He came to see John Roach, he
thought, for the last time. He bent over
him and kissed him good bye before he
went away. After his departure John
Roach found that he had left under his
pillow his weeks wages in the very en-
velope given at the works. John Roach
fdid not die. With the modest help of his
friend he got q start. Thirty-three years
after he was walking down Broadway
when he saw the back of g plsinly-dressed
man whose figure seemed strangely famil-
| lar to him. He was moved by some
spirit or desire to speak to this
man. He stopped him and said: Il
! DO not know your name, but | ought to
/ know you. What is it?' The man gave
it. 1t was the name of the workingman
who had befriended him on his diving
bed. Said Roach, DO you know me?'
NO. Il am John Roach was his reply,
'the shipbuilder.' yes, l have he rd of
you in the newspapers, but you must
excuse me, have in hand a very press
! ing matter of business Wait a mo-
ment,' said Mr.. Rosch. Sid you ever
know another John Roach?' Yes, but
he died some thirty odd years ago. mo,
he didn't; am that same John Roach
wss the shipbuilder's reply.
1.-The msn was very much astonished
/ but he again made move to press on, as
he was pressed for time. But Mr. Roach
made him stop and tell Whist his business
was. He found that his friend had s
small shop and house upon piece Of
ground in Brooklyn. 1t wss to be sold
under the hammer to redeem mortgage
at u O'Clock that day. 1t wss II The
man was hurrying to see the Sheriff to ask
him ii he could not put off the sale q
little longer. Mr.. Roach said to him:
Il know that Sheriff WELL You will lose
no time stopping with me- He dragged
aim into a restaurant where they had q
iharried lunch. During the stay in this
6place Mr.. Roach made out check for
kthe full amount of the mortgage. He
Ftben took bis old friend in carriage and
| they rescued the Sheriff's office in time to
redeem the property. One of the sons of
Mr.. Roach afterward married daughter
of his old friend.n